Vatican confirms Papal trip to Sri Lanka, Philippines

Published: 30 July 2014

Pope Francis will travel to Sri Lanka and the Philippines in January for his second trip to a continent where evangelisation is a big priority for the Catholic Church, the Vatican said yesterday, reports AFP on Yahoo7.

Francis, aged 77, will visit Sri Lanka from January 12-15, before heading to the Philippines - Asia's largest Catholic country - until January 19. The trip will come five months after Francis's first visit to Asia - to South Korea scheduled for August 14-18.

Asia had repeatedly been tipped as a destination for possible papal trips as Francis's predecessor Benedict XVI did not travel there during his eight-year pontificate. The continent is considered rich with potential for the Church.

Catholics make up just 3.2 percent of the population in Asia, but the number of believers is growing steadily.

Francis will be travelling to Sri Lanka, where 7.0 percent of the population is Catholic, in a period of difficulty for the local Church. He is expected to use his visit to encourage the Church to push for reconciliation between Sinhalese and Tamils, five years after the end of the island's civil war.

The Philippines trip will have a different tone. The Pontiff will hold masses with the faithful before likely visits to areas devastated last year by Typhoon Haiyan, known locally as Typhoon Yolanda.